It is customary for measurement systems to use a number of individual measurement devices (probes) to obtain data at particular locations within a system being monitored. It is also customary for the measurement system to keep track of each probe by knowing, for example, its identity, its type, what units it measures in, etc. The information pertaining to each probe (called metadata) is stored in a measurement system database for interpretation of data from the various probes and for probe configuration purposes.
In a system with a large number of such probes the management and distribution of configuration information for each probe can become a burden for servers and databases which must manage the individual configuration state for each probe. Thus, when a probe changes its behavior, for example, by going offline, reducing its data transfer rate, etc., the system must deal with the new condition and often must deliver this new information to other probes in the system under test or to other measurement systems.